Unklejam were a British dance music band formed by Tendai Tyson.

Background

Unklejam's name is taken from

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

's 1979 album ''

Uncle Jam Wants You ''Uncle Jam Wants You'' is the eleventh studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was originally released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Charly Groove Records and Priority Records. It ...

''. Their sound is a mixture of electro, R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

with influences ranging from

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

. The band were signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Their debut single "

Love Ya ''Love Ya'' is a CD released by the Fullerton College Jazz Bands and Vocal Jazz for the Discovery Records Trend AM-PM label. It was first released as a vinyl LP in 1986 and then re-released by the label on digital CD in 1988. The #1 jazz band w ...

" was played on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Trevor Nelson Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE (born 7 January 1964) is an English DJ and presenter. Early life Born in the London Borough of Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, Nelson attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School (now known as Central ...

and

Annie Mac Annie Mac (born 18 July 1978), is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents) ...

and was also performed live on ''

Popworld ''Popworld'' is a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the T4 strand, featuring pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from contemporary artists. The show began ...

'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. The single was B-listed at BBC Radio 1 and charted at number 54 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was also included in the soundtrack for the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, '' NBA Live 2008''. The video for the song has been directed by Paul Gore. The group then released their second single "

What Am I Fighting For? "What Am I Fighting For?" is the second Single (music), single by British dance music band Unklejam, released in 2007 from their self-titled debut album. The song reached 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was met with positive reviews from ...

" following a stint supporting

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

on her world tour, and

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

on the European leg of his

FutureSex/LoveSounds ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, released on September 8, 2006 by Jive Records and Zomba. Following a three-year writing hiatus, Timberlake conceived the album in collabora ...

tour. The single was a much bigger success, peaking in the

top ten and peaking at number eight on the UK

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. The group's debut self-titled album was initially due for release on 11 June 2007, one week after the release of the group's second single "What Am I Fighting For?". However, the release date for the album was pushed back to 10 September 2007, with a third single planned to precede the album release. In Summer 2007 they embarked a small UK tour including a date at the newly refurbished Opera House in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. "Arthur Baker's Return to New York and Maison present..." on Friday 6 July 2007 was the first in a series of monthly events. The tour also included the

Wireless Festival The Wireless Festival is a rap and urban music festival that takes place every year in London, England. It is owned and managed by Live Nation. While it started as primarily a rock and pop festival, in recent years it has focused on hip hop and ...

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

and

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

. Their third single "Stereo" (released 22 October) failed to appear in the UK Singles Chart.

Discography

Album

* ''Unklejam'' - available as digital download 29 October 2007 * ''Unklejam'' - available as physical release 4 February 2008

Singles

References

External links

MySpaceAOL reviewPop Justice review
{{Authority control British dance music groups British electronic music groups